La Biennale

Recent years

The new Biennale kicked off: the 48th International Art Exhibition APERTO Over All recovered the historical spaces of the Arsenale (Artiglierie, Isolotto, Tese, Gaggiandre). A new sector was created for live shows: DMT (Dance Music Theatre). From July to October, the Music sector proposed 21 concerts; from August to October the Theatre sector offered 14 shows; on 30th July, the Teatro Verde reopened with Parabola by Carolyn Carlson, and from September to October the Dance sector staged 13 events. From 1st to 11th September, the 56th Mostra del Cinema took place: the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Jerry Lewis.

2000

The Cinema sector presented an ample retrospective dedicated to the cinema of the Balkans, La meticcia di fuoco, held between 30th March and 16th April. Between August and September, as usual, the Mostra del Cinema was held, now at its 57th edition: Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to Clint Eastwood. On 18th June, the 7th International Architecture Exhibition opened, tempting over 70,000 visitors to the exhibitions in the Giardini and Arsenale. The Dance Music Theatre sectors offered a dense calendar of events.

2001

A festival entitled Shakespeare & Shakespeare took place 2 to 8 March: all of the Biennale sectors were involved in this homage to the Shakespearian world. Othello, directed by Eimuntas Nekrosius, and Virus, by the dancer-choreographer Nigel Charnock, were premiered during the festival. Also in the program the screening of Indian films based on Shakespeare works and a series of presentations with artists whose work was inspired by the Bard, such as Peter Stein, Peter Greenaway, and Josef Svoboda. Activities from the Dance Music Theatre sectors were organised between 5th May and 6th October: world premieres, co-productions, international congresses, for a total of 45 shows plus repeats. Particular success was enjoyed by the special events in the Theatre sector, La pista e la scena (The Ring and the Stage), held on the mainland at the Parco della Bissuola in Mestre. On 9th June, official opening of the 49th International Art Exhibition Plateau of Humankind - which registered the largest participation of foreign countries in its history (63) and a record for the number of visitors (243,000) over the last 20 years. Between 29th August and 8th September the 58th Mostra del Cinema was held; this edition of the festival introduced the novelty of a double competition by placing the Lion of the Year alongside the traditional Golden Lion; Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to Eric Rohmer.

2002

The Temps d'images Festival began on 10th February. Dedicated to the relationship between live performance, new forms of creativity, and television and cinematographic media, the festival also took place in Brussels and Paris. On 15th March, Carolyn Carlson presented her new show Waltz Thru Time. The Dance Music Theatre season started on 2nd May until 29th September. Franco Bernabè was appointed at the beginning of the year as the new President of the Biennale, along with the members of the Board, that are responsible for the planning of the activity in the period 2002-2005. The 59th Intl. Venice Film Festival, directed by Moritz de Hadeln, ran from 29th August until 8th September. The 8th International Architecture Exhibition Next, directed by Deyan Sudjic, took place from 8th September until 3rd November, receiving over 101,000 visitors.

2003

The International Art Exhibition presented its 50th edition: Dreams and Conflicts - The Dictatorship of the Viewer was the title chosen by director Francesco Bonami. The exhibition was open June 15 to November 2 and attracted the record number of 260,000 visitors. The public had the chance to meet a number of leading figures from the world of culture in over 120 presentations organized at the Arsenale by the Archive of the Contemporary-ASAC, directed by Giuliano da Empoli, and entitled 99-every idea but one and Tipping Point. The performing art sectors organized their programs reviving the formula of international festivals which are characteristic of the Venice Biennale's history: the 1st Intl. Dance Festival, directed by Frédéric Flamand, took place in June and July; the 47th Intl. Music Festival, directed by Uri Caine, in September; and the 35th Intl. Thetre Festival, directed by Peter Sellars, in October to November 1st. The 60th Intl. Venice Film Festival, directed by Moritz de Hadeln, ran from 27th August until 6th September. On December 23rd, the Italian Government approved the reform of the Biennale, presented by the Minister of Culture, which transformed the Biennale into a Foundation open to contributions from the private sector.

2004

On January 15 the Biennale was transformed into a foundation; in February, Davide Croff was appointed as new president. The 2004 events kicked off with the 2nd Intl. Festival of Contemporary Dance, directed by Karole Armitage, whose two sections ran in June and July. The 36th Intl. Theatre Festival, directed by Massimo Castri, ran September 15 - October 2, and the 48th Intl. Festival of Contemporary Music, directed by Giorgio Battistelli, took place October 14 to 23. Marco Müller was appointed as new director of the Cinema section, and the 61st Mostra Int.le d'Arte Cinematografica (Venice Film Festival) ran September 1-11: Mike Leigh's Vera Drake was awarded the Golden Lion for best film. The 9th Intl. Architecture Exhibition Metamorph, directed by Kurt W. Forster, ran September 12 to November 7 and attracted over 115,000 visitors.

2005

The first Venice Biennale event in 2005 was the 3rd Intl. Festival of Contemporary Dance, directed by Ismael Ivo and entitled Body Attack; the festival opened with an international symposium and a world premiere by The Forsythe Company on May 28-29, whereas the rest of the program ran June 8 to July 2. The 51st International Art Exhibition opened from June 12 to November 6, presenting two international exhibitions at the Giardini (The Experience of Art, directed by María de Corral) and at the Arsenale (Always a Little Further, directed by Rosa Martínez), 70 national participations and 30 collateral exhibitions. The 62nd Venice Film Festival, directed by Marco Müller, ran August 31 to September 10 (Golden Lion for best film to Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain); the 37th International Theatre Festival was directed by Romeo Castellucci and entitled Pompei – The Romance of the Ash (September 15-25); the 49th Intl. Festival of Contemporary Music, directed by Giorgio Battistelli and entitled Music And Its Double, ran September 28 to October 9. From 9 to 12 December, Robert Storr curated an international symposium on contemporary art, entitled Where art worlds meet: Multiple modernities and the global salon.

2006

The Dragon and the Lion ran February 23 to 28, a short festival within the program of the Carnival of Venice. The event was curated by Maurizio Scaparro, the new director of the Theatre section, and was entirely dedicated to China. The 4th International Festival of Contemporary Dance ran June 8 to 25: UnderSkin was the title chosen by director Ismael Ivo for his second edition as director. The Theatre section was back in July, from 21 to 30, with the 38th International Theatre Festival, Gozzi and Goldoni Europeans, directed by Maurizio Scaparro. The 50th International Festival of Contemporary Music, Va’ pensiero, ran September 20 to October 7, directed by Giorgio Battistelli. The Venice Film Festival reached edition no. 63, and ran August 30 to September 9: David Lynch was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, whereas Jia Zhangke won the Golden Lion for Best Film with Sanxia Haoren (Still Life). The year 2006 came to an end with the 10th International Architecture Exhibition, Cities. Architecture and Society (September 10 to November 19), directed by Richard Burdett, which included a special section, City-Port, hosted in three exhibition venues in Palermo.

2007

The main event in 2007 was the 52nd International Art Exhibition, directed by Robert Storr. Titled Think with the Senses - Feel with the mind. Art in the present tense, the exhibition attracted around 320,000 visitors in a 165-day opening period, which was the highest result in the last 25 years. Large attendances for the performing arts sections as well: the Dance festival, titled Body & Eros, ran June 14-30; one of the shows, Felix Ruckert's Messiah Game, raised much controversy and the festival's organization was requested to cancel it, but in the end the show was regularly presented in the program. The Theatre festival was dedicated to Goldoni and the New Theatre and ran July 18-29; the Music festival was entitled Beyond the Line and ran October 4-13. The 64th Venice Film Festival ran August 29 to September 8: this was the 75th edition and awarded Ang Lee the Golden Lion for Se, Jie (Lust, Caution), Tim Burton the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and Bernardo Bertolucci the special Golden Lion of the 75th Anniversary.

2008

The first event in 2008 was the 6th International Festival of Contemporary Dance, Beauty, directed by Ismael Ivo; the festival ran June 14 to 28, and was very popular between dance lovers and critics alike. The 65th Venice Film Festival ran August 27 to September 6, directed for the fifth time by Marco Müller: Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler won the Golden Lion. The 11th International Architecture Exhibition, titled Out There: Architecture Beyond Building, was open September 14 to November 23; the online competition Everyville, based on an idea by director Betsky, stirred much interest and the participation of 245 groups involving 782 university students from 48 countries. Luca Francesconi was appointed as director of the music section: the 52nd International Festival of Contemporary Music, Roots / Future, ran October 2 to 18. The events came to an end with the International Theatre Workshop, directed by Maurizio Scaparro and dedicated to the theme of the Mediterranean; running October 27 to November 29 around the idea of a construction site for art, the workshop was the first phase of a program that was completed by the 40th International Theatre Workshop the following year.

2009

The 40th International Theatre Festival ran 20 February to 8 March bringing to an end the project dedicated to the Mediterranean. The program had a final step on 5 and 6 November with the premiere of Baghdad Dust by Maurizio Scaparro. The 53rd International Art Exhibition, directed by Daniel Birnbaum and titled Making Worlds, was back at the Giardini and Arsenale venues attracting the record number of 375,702 visitors in the period 7 June to 22 November. The Dance section had the first step of the three-year project, Degree Zero, that included two world premieres in June (Michael Clark Company and Ismael Ivo). The 66th Venice Film Festival ran 2 to 12 September and awarded Samuel Maoz's Lebanon (Best Film) and the Disney•Pixar directors (Lifetime Achievement). Luca Francesconi directed for the second time the International Festival of Contemporary Music (25 September to 3 October), titled The Body of Sound.

2010The higher training center in contemporary dance directed by Ismael Ivo, Arsenale della Danza, set forth its master classes from January 18 to May 30, alongside an additional program of demonstrations and public lectures titled Open Doors (January 29 to April 10). The first edition of the Kids’ Carnival ran February 6-16: a special program of educational activities dedicated to children and kids, families and the general public, connected to the Venice Carnival. Dance was back in the foreground with the 7th Festival, titled Capturing Emotions and running May 26 to June 12. The 12th International Architecture Exhibition ran August 29 to November 21, directed by Kazuyo Sejima and titled People meet in architecture: a very successful event that attracted the record number of 170,801 visitors. The 67th Venice Film Festival opened right after the architecture show (September 1-11) and awarded the Golden Lion to Somewhere by Sofia Coppola. The 54th Festival of Contemporary Music, titled Don Giovanni and the man of stone, ran September 23 to October 2, presenting unusual events such as the opera-labyrinth, Don Giovanni a Venezia, and the special evenings Extempore and Exit_03. The newly appointed director for the Theatre section, Àlex Rigola, launched a series of workshops in preparation of the Festival in 2011, five of which took place from October 12 to December 31, while the two remaining ones were planned for February and March 2011. Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement in 2010: William Forsythe (Dance), Rem Koolhaas (Architecture), John Woo (Cinema), and Wolfgang Rihm (Music).

2011 The Kids’ Carnival organized by the Venice Biennale had its second edition (February 26 to March 8), actually the first international edition due to the participation of several countries owning a pavilion in the Giardini area. The 54th International Art Exhibition, curated by art historian and critic Bice Curiger, ran June 4 to November 27; the exhibition was titled ILLUMInations and attracted over 440,000 visitors making it a new record number for the show. The 68th Venice Film Festival was back on the Lido from August 31 to September 10, directed by Marco Müller; Darren Aronofsky chaired the main jury and the Golden Lion went to Faust by Aleksander Sokurov. The performing arts sections of the Biennale kicked off with the Arsenale della Danza: a cycle of master classes from January to May and six performances May 11 through June 25; the Festival of Contemporaery Music ran September 24 to October 1: titled Mutanti (Mutants), the program featured two workshops realized with the Ircam, Paris; the Theatre Festival ran October 10-16, bringing to a close the workshop program devised by Àlex Rigola that had started in 2010. Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement in 2011: Sturtevant and Franz West (Art), Marco Bellocchio (Cinema), Peter Eötvös (Music), Thomas Ostermeier (Theatre). On December 18, the President and the Board ended their four-year term; on Dec. 21 the Minister of Culture confirmed Paolo Baratta as President and appointed the new Board; on Dec. 27 the Board appointed the new artistic directors for the Architecture (David Chipperfield) and Cinema sections (Alberto Barbera).

2012

Tales and Thoughts is the title given to the third edition of the Kids’ Carnival, organized at Giardini from 11 to 21 February as a special Educational activity. The Arsenale della Danza master classes (fourth edition) ran 30 January to 17 June including the series for the public, Open Doors; the Festival, in its eighth edition, ran 8 to 24 June, opened by the world premiere of Ismael Ivo's Biblioteca del corpo. The new session of the International Theatre Workshop ran 4 to 13 August, featuring the participation of five important theatre directors. On 29 August both the 13th International Architecture Exhibition, titled Common Ground and directed by David Chipperfield (178,000 visitors) and the 69th Venice Film Festival kicked off, the latter directed by Alberto Barbera (until 8 September); Pieta by Kim Ki-duk was the Golden Lion winner. The 56th International Festival of Contemporary Music ran from 6 to 13 October, titled +Extreme- and directed by Ivan Fedele. Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement in 2012: Sylvie Guillem (Dance), Luca Ronconi (Theatre), Álvaro Siza Vieira (Architecture), Francesco Rosi (Cinema) and Pierre Boulez (Music).

2013

In January, Rem Koolhaas was appointed by the Board as the new director of the Architecture section. The 4th edition of the International Kids' Carnival, Il Leon Musico, an Educational project with the strict involvement of the Music section of the Biennale, was held on February 2-12. The 55th International Art Exhibition, curated by Massimiliano Gioni, took place from June 1 to November 24; the show, titled The Encylopedic Palace, attracted over 475,000 visitors, confirming itself as the most visited art exhibition in Italy; Tino Sehgal was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Artist, Angola won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation; the Holy See participated for the first time with a Pavilion inspired by the biblical narratives in the Book of Genesis. Four training classes were held between May and June as part of the Biennale College - Dance project, with three final days (June 28-29-30) devoted to shows for the public: it was Virgilio Sieni's first time as the director of the Dance section. The 42nd International Theatre Festival took place from 2 to 11 August, in conjunction with 17 training courses as part of the Biennale College - Theatre project. The 70th edition of the Venice Film Festival, celebrated with the special project Venice 70 - Future Reloaded, took place from August 28 to September 7: Bernardo Bertolucci was the president of the International Jury, Italian documentary Sacro GRA, directed by Gianfranco Rosi, was awarded the Golden Lion. Another Voice, Another Space (October 4 to 13) was the title of the 57th International Festival of Contemporary Music, which featured countless variations of two key elements in musical thought today: voice and space. The Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement in 2013: Maria Lassnig (Art), Marisa Merz (Art), Romeo Castellucci (Theatre), William Friedkin (Cinema) and Sofia Gubaidulina (Music). On December 4, the Board appointed Okwui Enwezor as director of the Visual Arts section.

2014The 5th International Kids’ Carnival ran from 22 February to 4 March, titled The Cookie Cottage and featuring new initiatives by the director of the Dance section, Virgilio Sieni. The 14th International Architecture Exhibition – Fundamentals had an opening period of nearly six months, from 7 June to 23 November: the show, curated by Rem Koolhaas, attracted 228,000 visitors. The 9th International Festival of Contemporary Dance mondo novo ran from 19 to 29 June and also had a preview section (a series of works in progress at the Arsenale Corderie in June on the occasion of the Architecture exhibition) and a closing segment (Virgilio Sieni’ Gospel According to Matthew that was premiered at the Teatro alle Tese on the first three weekends in July). The Theatre section focused on a new edition of the Biennale College from 30 July to 10 August featuring nine workshops about the language, codes, techniques and technologies of the scene today, held by international masters and experts; a programme of meetings and performances for the public was also in the line-up. The 71st Venice Film Festival, from 27 August to 6 September, awarded the Golden Lion to A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence by Roy Andersson; three feature films produced in the second edition of the Biennale College – Cinema were also screened as part of the Festival. The 58th International Festival of Contemporary Music kicked off on 20 and 21 September with a tribute to Steve Reich and continued from 3 to 12 October; the title Limes alluded to the concept of the border (ethnic roots, folklore, popular traditions, contemporary issues, etc.) that this edition of the festival focused on. The Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement in 2014: Phyllis Lambert (Architecture), Steve Paxton (Dance), Jan Lauwers (Theatre), Frederick Wiseman and Thelma Schoonmaker (Cinema), and Steve Reich (Music).